In 2026, EU cancer deaths are estimated to reach 1.23 million. The age-specific death rate is expected to fall to 114 per 100,000 males (a 7.8% decrease from 2020-2022) and 74.7 per 100,000 women (a 5.9% decrease). This fall confirms an overall upward trend, with particularly hopeful prospects for lung cancer in women, where the mortality rate is predicted to stabilize at around 12.5 deaths per 100,000, a 5% decrease. These findings come from a study published in the Annals of Oncology and conducted by the University of Milan in partnership with the Universities of Bologna and Parma. For the sixteenth consecutive year, researchers examined cancer mortality rates from 1970 onward for the 27 EU Member States collectively and, separately, the United Kingdom, utilizing data sourced from the World Health Organization and United Nations databases. Men's mortality rates continue to drop, but they will still be double those of women by 2026. "Lung cancer remains the top cause of cancer death in both sexes in the European Union. Mortality rates among males continue to fall, but they will remain nearly double those among women in 2026. This tendency is due to differences in tobacco consumption behavior between men and women. Currently, smoking prevalence among both sexes is less than 10% in the United States and the United Kingdom, although it remains higher in the EU".